Quote:
Originally Posted by Gold Leader
Just an odd question though would the SUD upgrade package ork with a Boeing 747SP?
Or would that only bring in more complications for the SP's main design it's self like airflow issues and what not?
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Very interesting question. It is actually the opposite! If it wasn't for the 747SP the SUD types would be non existent.
Let me explain. Actually the 747SP was a new type of aircraft that only looked like a shrunken 747. The 757 and 767 differ less from each other than the 747SP from the rest of the 747 family. All the fundamentals had to be redesigned in such a way that in fact you talk about another type. The wing structure, the flap principles, the tail section (section 46) and the wingbox to fuselage (section 44) had to be completely redesigned. This fuselage plug is exactly the same section as used in the stretched upper-deck design.
To answer your question: an 747SP/SUD would have requested for the redesign of fuselage section 44 and 46. So, once again another compete new fuselage design for an aircraft that serves a small niche. Albeit technically possible, it would have been a commercial disaster. But the design of the 747SP wasn't a write-off at all. It led to huge successes in the '80s and '90s!
During the oil crisis of the 1970s there was no market request for a stretched 747, as there was for an ultra long haul version of the 747 (the driving force behind the SP design). So most likely the SUD would never have been developed if the fuselage plug wasn't an of-the-shelf design when the market suddenly demanded a larger capacity 747 version during the '80s. Especially in combination with the significant wing aerodynamic, power plant and avionic improvements, the SUD was a key element in the cocktail of succes of the model -400.
Another other innovative design principle derived from the 747SP, and considered a sort of standard for all subsequent 747s, is the longitudinal galley. In order to make optimum use of the reduced space in the cabin, smart solutions were devised. Walter Dorwin Teague Associates invented the longitudinal forward galley: one long central kitchen on the right side of the fuselage between service doors 1 and 2. There was even a small (non person) elevator. This meant that the first class and upper deck lounge could be served from one single galley.
One of the hidden secrets of the -200SUD conversion is that during the modification proces, with the rooftop completely removed, a complete new longitudinal galley block was lifted in the fuselage. KLM's first generation 747s were later also fitted with a kind of longitudinal galley, but a complete standard unit could not be installed because of its dimensions. You can tell the difference if you take a closer look at the number of blind window plugs in KLMs short hump 747's and after the 747-200SUD modification.
So, I do not have to state to all of you my admiration and affection of the models SP and -300?
cheers, VJ